SCC Ranked in Four Categories By Community College Week

Led by its eighth consecutive No. 1 ranking in Precision Production, Southeast Community College is among the nation’s top community colleges in terms of graduates in four categories, according to a published report.

Community College Week’s annual top 100 Associate Degree Producers, comprised of data from the 2009-2010 academic year, was released June 13.

Southeast showed a 9 percent growth in the number of graduates in Precision Production to maintain the top ranking in the category. With 75 total graduates in the category, SCC is first by 14 students.

Precision Production includes programs such as Computer Aided Design Drafting, Machine Tool Technology, Manufacturing Engineering Technology and Welding Technology.

The 2011 report is an analysis of data provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Community College Week’s list includes many four-year colleges and universities who grant associate degrees. SCC’s No. 1 ranking in Precision Production includes seven four-year schools.

Other categories and SCC rankings for 2011:

Agriculture, Agriculture Operations & Related Sciences, seventh among two-year schools, up from 12^th place in 2010.

Engineering Technologies and Engineering-Related Fields, 14^th among two-year institutions, up from 30^th place in 2010.

All Disciplines – Non-Minority, 35^th among two-year institutions, up from 54^th place in 2010.

SCC has 53 Programs of Study, most of which are technical in nature.

Community College Week is published biweekly in Fairfax, Va., and claims to be “the independent voice covering community, technical and junior colleges since 1988.” Throughout the history of the rankings, the publication has changed the names of categories that SCC regularly found itself.

According to SCC’s 2010 placement statistics, 91 percent of graduates from Computer Aided Design Drafting, Machine Tool, Manufacturing Engineering and Welding found work or continued their education. SCC’s overall 2010 job placement/continuing education rate was 94 percent.

Dr. Jack Huck, SCC president, said the rankings were one way to demonstrate the value SCC provides students.

“I’m very proud of our programs for many reasons,” Huck said. “One of which is graduating students who possess the skills to be successful in today’s labor force. We realize that these rankings measure numbers of graduates, which doesn’t tell the whole story. But I think employers would tell you that when they hire an SCC graduate, they know they are getting a very skilled employee.”

Community College Week analyzes data from approximately 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. to compile its annual lists.